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Disney World - Day Three

9:23 AM

Friday was our third day at Disney. We learned from the day before to get up early and get to the park. After our morning trip to the hotel's food court (coffee, anyone?!) we were off to Animal Kingdom. Drew and Libby love animals and the outdoors, so we were excited to see what this park was all about.

The entrance of the park was much like zoos that I've visited before. Lots of birds, monkeys and a variety of small animals were set up as you stroll through. We had an early Fast Pass to Kilimanjaro Safaris. So we headed towards the back of the park. The attraction was an open-air ride that was as close to a safari ride as I've ever been. Libby and Drew were enthralled. :)

Following this, rode a train to Conservation Station. More animals and sites to see.

Our next stop was Festival of the Lion King. Oh my gosh! Beautiful colors, singing, dancing and acrobatics. Drew and Libby were not as impressed as I was (because Libby has never seen the Lion King since it was a mid-90's movie) but with the costumes, singing and show interaction, it was easy to follow along. If you go to AK, see this show.

After leaving the show, we were on time for our next ride, Kali River Rapids. This is a river raft ride that promises you will get wet. And guess what? We got soaked! Libby, Drew and I got splashed several times. Libby thought it was hilarious! It was another hot day, so we dried off pretty quickly after getting off the ride. Next it was time for lunch. Libby made a new friend. :)

Thankfully we didn't have to wait long to get on the ride (thanks, Fast Passes!) so I didn't have much time to think about being scared. I'm happy to report it was a fast, fun, thrilling ride. We all loved it! Libby giggled and squealed the entire ride. We held hands (because parts of the ride are in the dark). I think she comforted me more than I comforted her. :)

As soon as we stepped off the ride she announced, "I want to ride it again!" Thanks to a friendly man who was exiting when we were, we learned that there was a single rider line that could get you back on the ride without the long wait in the regular line. So Drew and Libby decided they'd go again. They waited less than a minute to get back on the ride - that doesn't happen much at Disney.

I was happy to watch them and take pictures.

Our next stop was Finding Nemo - The Musical. Drew decided to pass on this one. He took on the job of finding a kiosk to add another Fast Pass ride for us. So it was a fair trade.

Libby and I enjoyed the show. (And I really, really enjoyed the cool, air conditioned theater!) Who doesn't like Nemo and Dori? It was another entertaining show.

After the show we met back up with Drew. He had good news for us, he'd been able to add another Fast Pass for Expedition Everest. Libby was thrilled! We had time to ride a few smaller rides before heading back to the big roller coaster.

We all rode Expedition Everest one more time. If you're keeping count that was twice for me and three times for Libby and Drew. It was named our favorite ride in Animal Kingdom!

We left the park with enough time to go back to our hotel to change clothes and get ready for dinner. We had reservations at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort.

We got to ride the monorail to the restaurant.

This evening we got to meet the classic Disney characters: Donald Duck, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Pluto.

Libby got autographs from every character she met. It was a successful night. We were pretty late getting home. And after this long day we were exhausted. Being on a Disney vacation is hard work!